The Office
by AuKatzen
Summary: It's an office, in a building, in a city. No one really knows what they're supposed to be doing except the boss. Sakura and Syaoran, just recently getting out of a relationship, are forced to work together. Did someone say awkward? Amen.
1. Chapter 1

**Ah, well. I've kind of neglected my fanfiction for quite a while, but oh well. I've decided to write another story! It has actual potential, rather than the dozens of 2 chapter flops where I complete my plot within minutes of writing.**

**BTW, I haven't proofread this. I might come back and edit, but I'm too anxious to keep writing. It's 3:52 on a Monday morning, and I have school in 4 hours. Guh, I hate school. Enehwaiz. Enjoy.**

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_She was in far too deep. She should have listened, she wouldn't be doing this right now._

_Then again, this wasn't bad at all._

_Yes it was. It wasn't good at all. It was horrible. It was awful._

_Although, there was no denying that it was amazing._

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Sakura grabbed her jacket and ran out the door, rushing down the hall in a futile attempt to catch the elevator. The doors closed while she was yards away, the fat man inside completely oblivious to her dilemma. She cursed under her breath and pushed the door to the stairs open, racing down four at a time. After nearly running into the door on the first floor, she raced out of the building to see her bus turning the corner.

Letting out a well-deserved curse, she hurried to get a taxi and fly to work. She wasn't going to make it, she knew this already. But she could always try.

Sakura thrust a few bills at the driver and leaped out of the taxi, zipping through the doors and, not trusting herself to stand still in an elevator, took the stairs once again. An old woman was right in front of her, apparently taking her precious time. Sakura, feeling absolutely no need to do so as well, shoved herself in front of the woman, racing up the stairs like a pterodactyl were on her heels. Although, if she were late, much worse things would happen.

She lunged for the door and, finding there was nothing she could do about it, completely tackled her boss to the ground.

"Holy sh- Gomen, Li-sama."

Mei Ling clenched her teeth, after having Starbucks dumped all over her. Sakura scrambled off her boss and ran to the kitchen to grab napkins. Mei Ling rose to her feet, surveying her completely stained shirt. She took her nearly empty cup and tossed it in the trash just as Sakura ran at her with napkins.

"SOOOO sorry, Li-sama- Never happen again- Holy-"

Sakura continued rambling on and on as Mei Ling scampered to her office with Sakura at her heels.

"Do anything to make it up-"

"Shut the blinds, would you."

Sakura wrenched the blinds closed, and helped Mei Ling take off her now-coffee coloured jacket.

"Holy shit that's hot."

Sakura was taking Mei Ling's also-discarded shirt when she turned to the door.

"Li-san."

Li Syaoran stood speechless in the doorway. Sakura felt like fainting.

"Get in or get out, Syaoran."

He stepped inside and quickly shut the door. "Anyone mind explaining?"

"Sakura ran into me and got coffee all over my shirt, would you go get me something?"

Syaoran stared blankly at her.

"Like a shirt?"

"Sakura, go get me a shirt."

"From-"

Mei Ling sighed. "Go get me a shirt, damn it!"

Both of them quickly ran out of the office. Sakura knew to always follow instructions the second they were given by Mei Ling. Syaoran apparently knew as well, probably much better than her.

Syaoran started toward the stairs before Sakura could even blink. She silently followed him the entire way to the parking lot. She still wasn't sure why she followed him. She could only imagine how awkward it would be to ride in a car with him.

Syaoran's car was, of course, the most expensive-looking car she had ever seen. Sakura was never a fan of cars, but it always made even her sigh in awe.

"Get in," he said abruptly, breaking her train of thought.

She clambered in, admiring the nice-looking seats and dashboard and things. It didn't surprise her that Syaoran didn't drive the speed limit. Not a living soul on earth would, given the circumstances.

It was just as awkward as Sakura imagined it would be. Syaoran tried turning on the radio, but after a few lines of "I like big butts and I cannot lie, you otha brothas can't deny," it was immediately turned off, leaving the two in utter silence.

"Do you know what we're supposed to be doing?" Syaoran asked suddenly. Sakura averted her eyes from the window in an attempt to seem nonchalant about riding in the car with her ex.

"Stop over there." Sakura pointed to a little boutique among dozens of others, which she knew to be Mei Ling's favourite.

Syaoran did exactly as instructed, maybe out of habit, and Sakura ran in ahead of him. Upon extreme luck, she found the exact navy top that Mei Ling was wearing before Sakura mutilated it. She was about to pull out her wallet before Syaoran laid cash down on the counter.

"Don't even try, Sakura."

Sakura looked down at her feet nervously. She would thank him, but it didn't really fit the situation. They quickly exited the store.

Sakura was in no mood to complete the trip back. It had only been three weeks, and neither of them had spoken to one another since. To be honest, Sakura forgot why they had broken up in the first place.

The speedometer continued to increase. Sakura fidgeted with her fingers, continuously popping every single one even though she had already done it about three times.

(**AN:** That's what she said. Moving on.)

She was staring at him out of the very corner out of her eye. Her head was completely forward, but she could still see him, a concentrated look plastered on his face.

_He's just as nervous as me, probably,_ she thought to herself over and over, somehow easing the tension. Suddenly he glanced over at her. She quickly looked away.

"Sakura, I don't want this to be so awkward."

She fiddled unconsciously with her purity ring.

"I mean us."

She listened to the gum squish over and over in her mouth.

"We agreed that we'd still be friends, right?"

She slid her shoe on and off her foot.

"But... Sorry, never mind-"

"Turn!" she shouted, jerking the steering wheel left. The car suddenly lurched sideways, and Sakura fell in Syaoran's lap. Before she shot up a jolt of adrenaline ran down her spine. Syaoran cleared his throat.

"Sorry," she mumbled. He parked the car silently.

With a red face, Sakura grabbed the bag and clambered out of the car, rushing up the stairs. Syaoran stayed in the car, catching his breath.

"That wasn't awkward," he mumbled.

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Sakura was sprinting up the stairs to the main building, and, becoming increasingly tired with every step, decided to take the elevator. She pushed the button over and over again, knowing that it wouldn't do anything. When the elevator finally arrived, Syaoran was also huffing and puffing climbing up the stairs. Reluctantly, she pressed the doors open button. He stepped inside gratefully, otherwise having 9 stories to climb.

The ride up was undisturbed by other people, making it much more awkward than it needed be. Sakura was obliviously being inched into the corner by Syaoran.

"Sakura..."

Sakura looked up from her shoes to find Syaoran staring down at her nervously. The floor "dinged" to 7. It was very slow.

"...Never mind." He looked away at the extremely attractive wall, painted a nice colour. Grey, maybe... awkward-marine? (Awkward rap, lawl.)

Sakura looked back up at him suspiciously. He was practically boring holes into the elevator doors with laser vision. Her fingers itched to touch him, just standing there so obviously trying not to say anything. Just as she reached over to him, the doors opened, revealing the whole office. Syaoran practically leaped out, followed quickly by Sakura to Mei Ling's office.

"What the _hell_ took you so long!?" she screamed, grabbing the shirt and butting it up quickly. "My meeting started 15 minutes ago..." Letting out a stream of curses, Mei Ling rushed out the door. Sakura quickly made her way to the door, followed by Syaoran. Sakura shot an awkward smile at Syaoran as he held the door. Once again she twirled the ring round and round her finger.

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Sakura was doing absolutely nothing in particular, certainly nothing related to office work. She shared an office with a small blonde girl named Kanaka Hima, who spent most of her time in the men's bathroom with Yamazaki Takashi. Sakura's desk, therefore, was positioned next to the wall. Hima also did Sakura's paperwork when she didn't feel like doing it.

She was playing solitaire for the 13th game in a row when Hima and Takashi walked in, discussing the new filing system. Paying no attention to Sakura's presence, they changed the subject to something much less work-friendly. Sakura was forced out of the office, and into the main cube farm where there was nothing to do.

Just as Sakura was about to scan her face out of boredom, Mei Ling emerged from the conference room with an aggravated face. She motioned to Sakura and walked into her office. Sakura cringed and followed her inside.

"Sakura, I need to talk to you about something."

She sat behind her desk and pushed aside some paperwork, inviting Sakura to sit as well, which was never a good sign.

"I need a favor."

Sakura forced a smile. "What would that be?"

"There's a job fair on Friday at Harbor Heights High School, and I don't want to go."

"Might I suggest my going," Sakura said quickly.

Mei Ling grinned. "If you insist. There's already a pamphlet that you can read if they ask what we do, since I'm sure you have less than adept knowledge of what your job really is."

Sakura was about to get up when Mei Ling motioned her to sit back down. "There's something else I'd like to talk to you about."

Sakura readjusted in the wooden chair, only now seeming extremely hard and uncomfortable.

"...You and Syaoran have been really un-talkative since... anyways, it's getting to the point where I really can't have it in my office. I don't want you guys sending messages through other people like we're in middle school. If you can't keep at least a business relationship, maybe it would be better if you weren't forced to work together, right?"

Sakura nodded quickly. "Thank you, Li-san," she said swiftly and exited the office as quickly as possible.

She flew down the stairs and out of the building. Running to the little coffee shop across the street, she walked in casually and fled to the bathroom. Locking the sturdy wooden door behind her, she finally let herself cry. She didn't know why, she didn't need a reason. She was sad, so she was going to cry.

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**End Scene. Completely and utterly compelling, right? Goodness, I can't remember how many times I wanted to just skip the whole plot thing and have a glorious make out session. Willpower, my friends.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Don't ask me why it took me so long to write the second chapter of this. Just be glad that it's here.**

**Chapter 2**

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Sakura checked her watch. It had been half an hour since she entered the bathroom, and the shop owner probably wouldn't be too happy with her when she came out. Summoning up the courage, she walked out slowly and tried to remain inconspicuous.

Every eye was on her.

Most looked sympathetic, while others just looked annoyed. She stuffed a fifty in the tip jar and went on her not-so-merry way, ducking her face.

Life was not going well, she decided. It was just on one of those "Hey, I'm going to mess with you today" kind of days. Maybe tomorrow it would be one of those "Hey, you deserve a break. I'll make your boss sick so you can skip" days. Probably not.

When she got to her apartment, Sakura decided she would break out the wine and watch movies in pajamas all night then fall asleep on the couch and probably end up missing work. Which should bother her since her job was in danger, but didn't really at all.

Just as she finished off her second glass of wine, someone knocked on her door. She sighed and cracked the door open.

"Li-san... Do you need something?" Sakura fiddled with the chipping paint on the doorframe to avoid looking him in the eye.

"Actually, yes. May I come in?" he asked politely, bowing slightly. Sakura sighed inwardly and opened the door wider, allowing him to walk in.

"So why are you here?" she asked, pouring him a glass of wine. He took a sip and set the glass down slowly.

"Well, Meiling sent me here to discuss our relationship."

Sakura coughed.

"We both know why it didn't work, Syaoran," she said quietly. "Now seriously, please don't bother me at home like this again." She got up to show him to the door, but he grabbed her wrist and dragged her back to the couch.

"That's why I'm here. I'd like to apologize."

She froze.

"You're here to apologize?"

He nodded. "It was wrong of me to get mad at you. I should respect the fact that you're saving yourself for marriage."

Sakura was speechless. The last person she would ever expect to apologize and admit that it was all their fault was Li Syaoran. But here he was, apologizing and such.

"Oh. Uh, thanks."

He pulled out a squished rose from his jacket and handed it to her. She smiled questioningly, but nevertheless took the rose.

"I would have gotten you a dozen, but they wouldn't have fit."

She smiled. "Thank you."

He got up from the couch and let himself out. "If you were thinking about skipping tomorrow, you shouldn't. Meiling is pissed."

And with that, he left Sakura to ponder alone.

**xxxxxxxxxxx**

As instructed, Sakura walked into work the next day, wearing a new blouse that she didn't need a reason to wear previously. But now she felt good, and it was time that she got back on the market.

Sakura slumped into her desk, ignoring the two others in the room. They weren't going to say hi anytime soon, so she figured that it was okay.

Just as she was about to read that pamphlet on what her job was, Meiling barged in. The couple under the desk stilled and remained silent as she walked to Sakura's desk.

"Sakura, are you and Syaoran good?" she asked, business face plastered on. Sakura nodded quietly.

"K. Then I'm sending him with you to the high school tomorrow." And just as quickly, she walked out.

And the couple continued.

**xxxxxxxxxxx**

It turned out, life wasn't giving Sakura a free pass just yet. She ran errands all day for Meiling, which were incessant. Her mind wandered as she trudged around the city, thinking often of Syaoran. His sense of humor, his beautiful amber eyes, him shirtless... ahh.

But mostly his strange apology the night before. It took less than three minutes altogether... she wondered why he didn't stay longer. Maybe he felt awkward.

Then she remembered that last night she was wearing a thin tank top and the shortest shorts that she owned.

She blushed.

**xxxxxxxxxx**

**End. I'm tired. Maybe I'm done for the night.**


End file.
